LG-KS20 Takes on the iPhone

LG's LG-KS20 looks to one-up the iPhone with a 2.8-inch touchscreen display, Windows Mobile 6, and high-speed HSDPA connectivity...and, so far, launching only in Europe.

At the IFA 2007 show in Berlin, South Korea’s LG Electronics unveiled its new LG-KS20 HSDPA smartphone, featuring Windows Mobile 6 and a large 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen-based interface. The LG-KS20 wants to be the ultimate portable Internet experience, and by leveraging HSDPA data access technology, users should be able to surf the Web at speeds up to 3.6 Mbps per second, as opposed to the paltry few hundred Kbps offered by the ATamp;T network currently hosting the iPhone in the United States. But here’s the rub: while th LG-KS20 is expected to launch in October, it’s so far only slated for release in Europe, and there’s no word on pricing or when/if the phone might debut on the North American market.

The LG-KS20 bears a resemblance to the company’s earlier Prada-branded phones, and features a 2 megapixel camera (plus a forward-facing VGA camera for video conferencing capabilities), Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi wireless networking, integrated media playing capability, microSD expandable storage, and the whole thing slips in at just 12.6 millimeters thick. In addition to WiFi and HSDPA, the KS20 also packs triband (900/1800/1900 MHz) GSM/GPRS/EDGE connectivity.

The phone should debut in Europe during the fourth quarter of 2007.

LG has also announced the LG-KU990 Viewty, a "professional-level" camera phone which offers picture-taking features on par with high-end standalone digital cameras, along with the ability to edit and upload images directly to the Internet (and video directly to YouTube). Although LG hasn’t specified the camera’s resolution, it says the Viewty offers electronic image stabilization, sensitivity down to ISO 800, a manual focus option, and the ability to record video at up to 120 frames per second, which LG says is the highest frame rate for a handset camera. The Viewty sports a 3-inch touchscreen, and an attached stylus which lets users "write" on images and edit their photos. LG hasn’t offered any information on the Viewty’s pricing or availability.